Given the lack of consistent evidence of the relationship between Mediterranean dietary patterns and body fat, we assessed the cross-sectional association between adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, BMI, and waist circumference (WC). A total of 497,308 individuals (70.7% women) aged 25-70 y from 10 European countries participated in this study. Diet was assessed at baseline using detailed validated country-specific questionnaires, and anthropometrical measurements were collected using standardized procedures. The association between the degree of adherence to the modified-Mediterranean Diet Score (mMDS) (including high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereals, fish and seafood, and unsaturated: saturated fatty... (More)

Given the lack of consistent evidence of the relationship between Mediterranean dietary patterns and body fat, we assessed the cross-sectional association between adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, BMI, and waist circumference (WC). A total of 497,308 individuals (70.7% women) aged 25-70 y from 10 European countries participated in this study. Diet was assessed at baseline using detailed validated country-specific questionnaires, and anthropometrical measurements were collected using standardized procedures. The association between the degree of adherence to the modified-Mediterranean Diet Score (mMDS) (including high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereals, fish and seafood, and unsaturated: saturated fatty acids ratio; moderate alcohol intake; and low consumption of meat and meat products and dairy products) and BMI (kg.m(-2)) or WC (cm was modeled through mixed-effects linear regression, controlling for potential confounders. Overall, the mMDS was not significantly associated with BMI. Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly associated with lower WC, for a given BMI, in both men (-0.09; 95% CI -0.14 to -0.04) and women (-0.06; 95% CI -0.10 to -0.01). The association was stronger in men (-0.20; 95% CI -0.23 to -0.17) and women (-0.17; 95% CI -0.21 to -0.13) from Northern European countries. Despite the observed heterogeneity among regions, results of this study suggest that adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, high in foods of vegetable origin and unsaturated fatty acids, is associated with lower abdominal adiposity measured by WC in European men and women. J. Nutr. 139: 1728-1737, 2009. (Less)

@article{c88bdb27-a597-4276-955c-a396cddc960f,
abstract = {Given the lack of consistent evidence of the relationship between Mediterranean dietary patterns and body fat, we assessed the cross-sectional association between adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, BMI, and waist circumference (WC). A total of 497,308 individuals (70.7% women) aged 25-70 y from 10 European countries participated in this study. Diet was assessed at baseline using detailed validated country-specific questionnaires, and anthropometrical measurements were collected using standardized procedures. The association between the degree of adherence to the modified-Mediterranean Diet Score (mMDS) (including high consumption of vegetables, legumes, fruits and nuts, cereals, fish and seafood, and unsaturated: saturated fatty acids ratio; moderate alcohol intake; and low consumption of meat and meat products and dairy products) and BMI (kg.m(-2)) or WC (cm was modeled through mixed-effects linear regression, controlling for potential confounders. Overall, the mMDS was not significantly associated with BMI. Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly associated with lower WC, for a given BMI, in both men (-0.09; 95% CI -0.14 to -0.04) and women (-0.06; 95% CI -0.10 to -0.01). The association was stronger in men (-0.20; 95% CI -0.23 to -0.17) and women (-0.17; 95% CI -0.21 to -0.13) from Northern European countries. Despite the observed heterogeneity among regions, results of this study suggest that adherence to a modified Mediterranean diet, high in foods of vegetable origin and unsaturated fatty acids, is associated with lower abdominal adiposity measured by WC in European men and women. J. Nutr. 139: 1728-1737, 2009.},
author = {Romaguera, Dora and Norat, Teresa and Mouw, Traci and May, Anne M. and Bamia, Christina and Slimani, Nadia and Travier, Noemie and Besson, Herve and Luan, Jian'an and Wareham, Nick and Rinaldi, Sabina and Couto, Elisabeth and Clavel-Chapelon, Francoise and Boutron-Ruault, Marie-Christine and Cottet, Vanessa and Palli, Domenico and Agnoli, Claudia and Panico, Salvatore and Tumino, Rosario and Vineis, Paolo and Agudo, Antonio and Rodriguez, Laudina and Jose Sanchez, Maria and Amiano, Pilar and Barricarte, Aurelio and Maria Huerta, Jose and Key, Timothy J. and Spencer, Elisabeth A. and Bueno-de-Mesquita, H. Bas and Buchner, Frederike L. and Orfanos, Philippos and Naska, Androniki and Trichopoulou, Antonia and Rohrmann, Sabine and Kaaks, Rudolf and Bergmann, Manuela and Boeing, Heiner and Johansson, Ingegerd and Hellstrom, Veronica and Manjer, Jonas and Wirfält, Elisabet and Jacobsen, Marianne Uhre and Overvad, Kim and Tjonneland, Anne and Halkjaer, Jytte and Lund, Eiliv and Braaten, Toni and Engeset, Dragun and Odysseos, Andreani and Riboli, Elio and Peeters, Petra H. M.},
issn = {1541-6100},
language = {eng},
number = {9},
pages = {1728--1737},
publisher = {American Society for Nutrition},
series = {Journal of Nutrition},
title = {Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Lower Abdominal Adiposity in European Men and Women},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/jn.109.108902},
volume = {139},
year = {2009},
}